Food.

Catering while traveling through Buryatia will not cause problems. In virtually all settlements you can find a “kafe” with mainly traditional Buryat and Russian cuisine. In Ulan-Ude or Irkutsk restaurants also offer European dishes. Foodstuffs can be bought in any grocery store or on the market. We strongly recommend you to try traditional cuisine of the Baikal region, which generally can be divided into Buryat, Russian and “Baikal” cuisine.

In the Buryat cuisine mainly meat and dairy-product dishes prevail. The most famous and popular dish is called Posy. Posy – small dough pockets filled with minced meat – are served in almost every Buryat “kafe”. Another well-known dish is Salamat – a soup prepared with mutton and noodles.

In the Russian-Transbaikalien cuisine vegetables are commonly served along with meat. Traditional dishes are: Borsh or Shi, boiled potatoes fried with bacon, marinated fish, vegetable salads, pickled cabbage, fruit infusions or Kwas.

The main ingredient of the traditional «Baikal» cuisine is, of course, fish from Lake Baikal, such as Omul, whitefish, grayling, or sturgeon. The typical fish soup (Ukha) is prepared only from freshly caught fish boiled in the crystal-clear water of Lake Baikal according to a special recipe – very aromatic and unforgettably delicious.

Another typical Baikal dish is Omul fish grilled on spits: Salted fresh fish stringed on special sticks are roasted on the coal fire. Once ready, this dish will delight many guests. By no means less tasty or interesting are dishes prepared from salted Baikal fish.

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